Cards and Mysteries
by deathwave1
Summary: Four years ago, a mission went very wrong. Because of Lucy's weakness, someone she loved was hurt. Deciding to become stronger in order to stand beside her guildmates, Lucy leaves Fairy Tail. Two years later, her letters stop coming. After four years pass, two strangers named Alice and Jack appear, wanting to join the guild. Who are they, and why does Alice have all those scars?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yes, I should be working on my other story. I will eventually. This plot bunny was eating my brain and I had to write it, okay?**

 **Disclaimer: Do I look like I own Fairy Tail? No? That's because I don't.**

It wasn't supposed to go wrong. The mission was supposed to be just another ordinary request for Team Natsu. Take down some bandits, report to the city council, get paid. It all would've been perfect if the bandits hadn't had a mage with them.

The enemy mage didn't look all that strong, and Lucy had decided, like an idiot, to tell everyone that she would fight him. And Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Happy had trusted her. Then, like the pathetic weakling she was, she had summoned Loke to fight for her. Everything had gone well, until the enemy mage started targeting her.

Loke never would've made it in time. A bolt of magic was shooting towards her,faster than she had any hope of dodging. Then, Happy, that damned cat, had jumped in front of her.

Natsu and Happy both insisted it wasn't her fault. And even if it was, no big deal, right? The Exceed could still function with one arm. He'd be fine, and maybe Wendy and Porlyusica could come up with a solution. A prosthetic, or something.

Still, Lucy knew that it was her fault her nakama had been hurt. And so, when she walked into Fairy Tail early one May morning and told Mirajane and Master that she was leaving, she knew she was doing the right thing.

The blonde pushed her way through the large, imposing doors, her usual smile missing and carrying several letters in her hand.

"Lucy!" Mirajane smiled warmly at her. A jolt of pain went through her heart. She was going to leave these people, who had taken her in when no one else would, who had cared for her in her weakest moments, who had wiped her tears and bandaged her wounds, behind. _But I'll come back._

"Hello, Mira-san," she murmured. "You're here early," the bartender continued. "What's the occasion?" Lucy squeezed her eyes shut for a long moment, fighting the prickling behind her eyelids. Unfortunately, Mira caught the action. Frowning, she asked, "What's wrong?"

The blonde opened her eyes, but still refused to meet Mira's. "I'm…" she broke off, unable to complete the statement. Mira stepped out from behind the bar, walking over to her friend. "If you need to talk, I'll listen," she offered quietly.

Lucy winced at the gentleness in her friend's tone. It was just like the white-haired mage to say something like that. Her heart wrenched again. _Why is leaving so damn hard?_

"I'm leaving," she blurted. "I'm leaving Fairy Tail." There. It was out there. Strangely, instead of fear of her guildmate's reaction, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders, almost as if telling someone had made the whole idea easier.

Mira didn't look surprised by the proclamation. Instead, she looked resigned. "I see," she said, forcing a sad smile. "Why?" Lucy finally met the barmaid's eyes. "I'm going to get stronger," she announced, her gaze boring into Mira's. "I'm going to get stronger, so no one has to rescue me. Then I'll come back, and I'll be the one saving everyone else."

Mira's expression became just a bit happier at that. "You're really determined to do this?" she asked gently, looking for confirmation. Lucy nodded. There was no way she would back down now, after writing those letters and talking to her spirits. She would face her own weakness and beat it, without the help of Fairy Tail.

Mira led Lucy towards Makarov's office, speaking as they walked. "I think," she said slowly. "Making this decision means you're stronger already."

XxX

Makarov had been having a good day. There hadn't been any brawls yet, as everyone was too hungover from last night's party to come in early, and since Natsu had been on a break from missions to help Happy through physical therapy for the loss of his arm, there was less than half the normal damages charges. He had been sipping coffee and reading over some requests when Fairy Tail's celestial mage walked through the doors of his office.

"Master?" Lucy asked timidly, stepping through the open doorway. Makarov looked up, smiling genially at her. "Ah, Lucy," he said cheerfully. "Can I help you with something?" She looked at the ground, not wanting to meet his eyes. The old man frowned, wondering what could make such a positive person so depressed.

"I want to leave the guild for a while," she half-whispered, still not looking at him. Makarov steepled his fingers and sighed. "Sit down, then," he said. He had honestly been expecting this. He alone had seen the depression she had fallen into. He had noticed the pained expression she had when she thought that no one was looking. He had watched as she spent less and less time at the guild, preferring to wander the streets alone. He had expected a request for something similar for a while now.

"May I ask where you will be?" he questioned. Lucy looked up at him, suddenly hopeful. "I'm going to train," she explained quickly. "I don't know exactly where I'll be, but Loke and the other spirits will be helping me."

Makarov tipped his chair back, contemplating. He treated all the members of the guild like they were his children, and losing one was never easy. Even so, he had to let her leave. Every bird eventually flees the nest. He could only hope she found her way back.

"Will you follow one condition?" he said, leaning his chair back onto all four feet. She tipped her head at him, listening. "Write a letter every month," the diminutive man commanded. "For the entire guild to hear. Tell us what you've learned, what you've been doing, and if you're safe."

Lucy smiled. "Of course," she agreed, setting the letters she had been carrying on the desk. "I already wrote these. There's one for the whole guild and one each for Erza, Gray, Levy-chan, and Natsu. Can you give them to everyone when they get here?" Makarov looked at her in surprise. "You're planning on leaving now?" he questioned. She nodded, smile fading away. "My things are already packed," the blonde said quietly. "My apartment is empty." He tilted his chair back, exhaling. "Shouldn't you at least talk to your teammates?" he suggested.

The celestial mage looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers together in her lap. "I think," she started hesitantly. "If I talk to them, I won't leave. Natsu won't let me, and even if he does, I won't have the strength to leave if I see them one more time." Makarov frowned at her. "Then maybe you shouldn't leave, if you're that unsure," he pointed out. "No!" She snapped her gaze to his, glaring at him with fierce determination. "I have to do this! I have to get stronger without using Fairy Tail as a crutch!" The old man raised both hands in an apologetic gesture.

"I'm not stopping you," he said, trying to calm her. "I'm just saying, if you're really that unsure, maybe you aren't making the best choice." Lucy's glare only intensified as she stood and slammed her palms on the desk. "I'm doing the right thing," she spat. "And nothing you say will stop me." Makarov raised his hands higher. "That's fine," he placated. "I'll deliver the letters and everything. I was just trying to make sure you're determined." She settled back in her chair, rage evaporating, and reaching up to rub at her face with her hand. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I lost my temper there. I just…haven't gotten much sleep lately." The guildmaster looked at her in sympathy. "Have you been thinking about this for a while, then?" he asked gently.

Lucy twisted her fingers so tightly it looked painful. "For almost a month," she whispered. "I've been trying to write those letter for three weeks." Makarov laced his fingers together. "I see," he said. "This really isn't any easier for you than it will be for everyone else." The blonde glanced up in shock. "You really thought this was easy for me?" He shook his head. "No, of course not," he said quickly. She just went back to staring at her hands.

They sat in silence for a long moment before Lucy spoke up again. "Hey, Master," she said hesitantly. "Hmm?" "Can I keep my guild mark?" The old man smiled widely. "Of course," he announced. "You are a Fairy Tail mage, no matter what." She looked up and returned his smile. He stood, staying on his chair to keep eye contact (sometimes being shorter than ninety-five percent of everyone around him was a tad inconvenient). "Go and train," he began. "Learn from your spirits, and whoever else may teach you. Become strong, become independent, but do not forget us. Then, when you feel like you can return and stand beside your nakama with pride, return to Fairy Tail."

XxX

Natsu walked into Fairy Tail with an uncharacteristic scowl marring his features. He had gone to Lucy's apartment like usual that morning, only to find it empty and abandoned. She probably just moved somewhere else, but why wouldn't she tell him? And wouldn't he have noticed things being boxed up and stacked? All in all, it was a weird situation.

"Oi, old man!" was the first thing he yelled when he walked into the already packed guild. Makarov was standing on the bartop, watching the chaos. "You seen Lucy?" the dragon slayer continued as he walked closer. "Cause I just went to her apartment, and-" "Ah, Natsu," the old man interrupted. "Good thing you're here. I need to make an announcement to the whole guild." Natsu frowned. "But isn't Gildarts on a mission? And Jet and Droy are still taking a break 'cause Levy finally went on a mission with Gajeel-" "Yes, yes," Makarov dismisses his concerns with the wave of a hand. "Your team is here, and that's the most important thing." The frown deepened. "What-"

"HEY! ALL YOU SHITTY BRATS!" Makarov yelled, successfully quelling the chaos of the brawls, yelling, and drinking. "IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! LISTEN UP!" Even Mirajane stopped her constant cleaning of the counter to listen, although an observer may have noticed her sad, knowing look.

"Many of you have probably noticed that Lucy isn't here," the old man continued. "There's a reason for this." He had to wait a moment while the guild murmured in surprise. "So where is she?" Natsu yelled, voicing everyone's question. Makarov raised his head, looking out over the crowd of mages. "Lucy came to me early this morning," he began. "She has decided to leave the guild for a while. BUT," he yelled over the chaos. "She will return. She left to train with her spirits, leaving these letters." He waved the envelopes in one hand. "Also, here is something that will make all of you very happy. She will be writing a letter every month, telling us-" He was interrupted by the sound of Natsu's fist breaking a table in half.

"Where is she, Gramps?" he snarled. "I'm going after her." Makarov glared at the boy. "Natsu, if I knew where she went, I wouldn't tell you," he snapped. "Lucy has made her decision, and you have no right to chase after her to drag her back." "What makes you think I'll do that?" he growled back. "I know you, Natsu," the guildmaster said, softening his tone. "You're possessive of your friends, and you're angry that Lucy left." " _Can you blame me?_ " the dragon slayer roared. "Why would she leave? We can help her get stronger here! Why wouldn't she tell us?"

Makarov leapt off the bar, and in the time it took to blink, he had slammed his fist into Natsu's cheek. The salmon-haired teen went flying into the wall. All the mages looked on in awe. The guildmaster _never_ attacked a member seriously. But here he was, punching someone hard enough to make a Natsu-shaped dent in the wall.

"She made her decision," Makarov said coldly. "It was her choice. Leave it." He then hopped up on a table and faced the rest of the guild. "Lucy left a letter to be read to the whole guild, along with individual letters to certain members. I'll read the guild-wide one to you all now." He shuffled through the papers, eventually finding an envelope simply addressed to Fairy Tail. Clearing his throat, he began to read.

 _Dear Fairy Tail,_

 _This is my fifty-sixth try at writing this letter, and I still don't know how to start it, but here goes nothing. By the time you're hearing this, I'll already be gone. There's a good reason for my leaving! Don't get mad (Natsu…) because I'm definitely coming back. There's no way I'd permanently leave Fairy Tail. You guys are my family._

 _Anyway, I'd better explain. Ever since that mission where Happy lost an arm, I've realized that I'm not strong enough. No, I'm weak. Everyone else is so much stronger than me, all I'm doing is holding you guys back. So, I'm leaving to train with Loke and my other spirits. I'm going to get strong enough to stand next to everyone instead of behind you. I want to save you guys, instead of being saved._

 _I'll be back when I'm strong. It might be a month, it might be a year. It might be more. But I promise I'll be back._

 _I love you all._

 _Lucy_

XxX

Levy clutched her own letter tight to her chest. She had snuck off to the library to read it, and in hindsight, that had probably been a good idea, seeing how she was now crying harder than she ever had before. She glanced over her best friend's writing again, sobbing harder as she did.

 _Dear Levy-chan,_

 _I'm really, really sorry that I didn't tell you about this. I should've been honest with you. I hope you can forgive me for that, and still be my friend when I get back. At any rate, I didn't tell you because if anyone had told me not to leave, I wouldn't have, and I need to._

 _Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine. I'm just going to train with my spirits, and they'll protect me if anything really bad happens. I just had to leave, is all. It's my fault that Happy lost his arm. If I hadn't been there, no one would've gotten hurt. I have to get stronger without the help of Fairy Tail. I hope you can understand that._

 _I left the next chapter of my book in the envelope. I'll send you the next one every time I finish it. Take good care of Jet and Droy, they need you. Oh, and just kiss Gajeel already. The sexual tension is unbearable for everyone around you two._

 _Love,_

 _Lucy_

"Stupid, stupid, stupid Lu-chan," the solid script mage mumbled between sobs. "Gajeel doesn't like me."

Said iron dragon slayer disagreed with that statement. He had been hiding behind a bookshelf and watching her cry...okay, that sounded both stalkerish and sadistic. He had just been concerned! Really!

"Hey, Shrimp," Gajeel muttered as he stepped out from behind the shelf. Levy spun to face him, frantically wiping away tears. "Ga-Gajeel!" she exclaimed, scrubbing at her face. "What are you-" "I got a question for ya," he interrupted, not in the mood for idle chatter. The blue-haired mage tipped her head at him, finally managing to stop her crying. "Why are you crying?"

Levy froze. "...What?" she mumbled. "Ya heard me," he said. "I'm crying because Lu-chan left," she replied. "Duh." Gajeel looked off to the side, considering his words. "I don't think you should cry over that," he finally announced. There was a long moment of silence, then…

 _Smack!_

"How dare you!" the solid script mage snapped. "Lu-chan is my best friend! Of course I'm going to cry when she…when something like this happens!" "You're not getting it," the iron dragon slayer complained. "Well then tell me what there is to get!"

"It's like this," Gajeel started. "Bunny Girl left 'cause she wants to train, right? So we should be happy for her. Her getting stronger can only be good, right?" Levy frowned, confused. Her anger had evaporated, but she still didn't understand. Seeing her expression, the iron dragon slayer tried to rephrase his thoughts. "What I'm trying to say is...shouldn't you proud of her, instead of crying."

The blue-haired mage's shoulders relaxed. He was finally making sense. She wiped the very last of her tears and smiled up at him. "Thanks, Gajeel," she said softly. "You're a lot smarter than you look." "Was that an insult, Shrimp!?" Levy just laughed. Maybe Lucy was gone, and maybe things were changing, but they were still Fairy Tail, and they would be fine.

XxX

 _May 28, X791_

 _Dear Fairy Tail,_

 _Has it really already been a month since I left? It doesn't feel that long at all. I almost didn't write this because I thought it was too early, but Loke made me, which was probably good, because when we got back to town, it was May 31st. I payed for overnight shipping, so this should get to you guys on June 1st._

 _I should tell you about what I've been doing, huh? Well, I've been training with my whip with Aquarius (she's in an even worse mood than usual), meditating on my own, and doing physical strength training with Loke. Maybe I'm crazy, but I already feel stronger. We fought a bunch of bandits for a village we passed through last week, and I did a lot better than I thought I would. I still had to summon Virgo to help, but I fought too, instead of standing on the sidelines._

 _I guess all I really have to say other than that is that I hope everyone is safe, and happy. I'm safe where I am, but I'm nowhere near as happy as I am around everyone back home. Don't miss me, I'll be back before you know it._

 _Love,_

 _Lucy_

XxX

 _April 29th, X792_

 _Dear Fairy Tail,_

 _It's been a whole year. Isn't that crazy? It feels like it's been longer. I miss you all so much, but I've gotten a lot stronger. I can really fight now, not just stand on the sidelines like some kind of cheerleader._

 _I'm sorry to say this, guys, but I'm not coming back yet. Before you all start freaking out, there's a good reason. Loke and I have been taking down a lot of bandits recently, and they all seem to be working for the same organization. They're involved in human trafficking, prostitution, and the like. We're working on a way to take them down. I know, I know, that's dangerous, blah, blah, blah, but trust me, whatever complaints you have, I already heard from Loke. He worries way too much._

 _Anyway, I miss you all. I hope you're all doing great. I'll send another letter next month._

 _Love,_

 _Lucy_

XxX

 _September 25th, X793_

 _Dear Fairy Tail,_

 _It's been two and a half years. Isn't that crazy? I miss you all more than you can believe. I haven't got much time to write this, so I'll just say this: I love you all with every bit of my soul, and if this is the last letter I write to you, I'm sorry._

 _Love,_

 _Lucy_

XxX

 _September 20th, X793_

 _Dear Levy-chan,_

 _I know I haven't written to you specifically in a while, but this is really important. As in, fate-of-Fiore important. The gang organization I wrote about? It's run by a dark guild called_ _Hellhound Totem. I don't know a lot about them, and what I do know is too risky to write down. If this letter gets intercepted, I don't want you guys to get targeted._

 _Anyway, Loke and I are going to try and take them down. I know, it's crazy, and if you're thinking I'm going to die, you're probably right. Our strategy is basically suicide. Without revealing too much, I'll say this: It involves destroying their base with Loke and I still inside._

 _If I do die, Virgo has orders to come to the guild and tell everyone everything that I haven't put in my letters for the past few years. I've been hiding a lot, but it's all for a good reason._

 _Just trust me, okay? I'm going to do my best to live. I still need to see everyone again._

 _I have to go now. If I die, show this to everyone. Tell them I missed them to the very end,_

 _Love,_

 _Lucy_

XxX

Lucy hadn't written in a year and a half. It had been four years since she left the guild, and while they hadn't given up on her, their lives kept moving forward. Romeo and Wendy, now seventeen and sixteen respectively, were dating. Actually, a more accurate description would absolutely head-over-heels in love with each other. It was a fairly common event to spot them coming dangerously close to losing clothes while making out in the middle of the guild hall. Gajeel and Natsu had long since given up trying to keep the young fire mage away from their surrogate sister. Jellal had been pardoned (finally) and he and Erza were slowly making progress towards a relationship. Happy and Charle were somewhere in between friends and something more. Levy was still in denial about her feelings for Gajeel. Laxus and Mira had begun dating quietly, and even Elfman and Evergreen were together. There was only one person who refused to move forward. Natsu.

The dragon slayer stubbornly refused to live for the future. He stopped taking missions, only ever fulfilling requests when he absolutely had to get the money. He regularly left for months at a time to look for Lucy. Even after Levy revealed the letter the blonde had sent her, Natsu only searched harder. When asked why he wouldn't let go, he just replied that Virgo had never showed up, so she was still alive, and she would've come back by now if something hadn't been stopping her. He was absolutely determined to bring her back, whatever the cost.

The salmon-haired man's one-track mind and reckless determination had eventually broken apart his team, leaving him with only Happy for company on his long journeys. When he was home, Lisanna would try to comfort him, but everyone who saw the two together could tell that her efforts were in vain. The cycle continued, with everyone moving forward while Natsu lived in the past. It was during one of the rare times when he was back at Fairy Tail when the two oddly familiar strangers showed up.

XxX

Levy was sitting in a corner deciphering yet another ancient text (this one detailed the fall of an empire in X135) when the massive doors of the guild opened. This was not as normal as it sounded. They had been forced to renovate two years ago, when Natsu accidentally burned down the doorframe while fighting with Gray, and the doors had been rebuilt on a insanely huge scale. Each door weighed almost a thousand pounds, and was twenty-three feet high. The right door was always cracked enough for people to walk in, and the back door was unlocked. No one ever pushed the doors all the way open, but someone just had.

There were two people, a man and a woman. The man had spiky black hair that looked almost like a lion's mane, and was wearing a rather punkish outfit: tight-fitting leather pants, a leather jacket, and dark sunglasses. The woman, on the other hand, looked almost angelic, with light blond hair and wearing a white shirt and light blue skirt. The only thing ruining the angel image was her hands; she wore black fingerless gloves with small metal spikes on the knuckles. Both people looked unnervingly familiar. Levy couldn't quite place the man, but the blonde looked…she shivered. The woman looked identical to Lucy.

The guild was silent as everyone stared at the newcomers. Gray and Natsu froze mid-fight, Wendy slipped off Romeo's lap (Levy didn't want to know what she had been doing there in the first place), and Cana put down her barrel of beer. The mismatched pair stepped into the guild hall, and Natsu moved.

"Lucy!" He grabbed the blonde's shoulders, staring at her face intently, eyes wide in shock. Her hands shot up in front of her, and she tried to take a step back. The black-haired man pushed Natsu off of her, and stood calmly between them. "I don't know what you're doing, but please refrain from assaulting my companion," he said quietly. The salmon-haired man glared at him. "Who the hell are you, and why are you with Lucy?" he spat, getting in the taller man's face. The blonde stepped out from behind her partner. "Step down, Jack," she ordered, then turned to face Natsu. "I think you have me mistaken for someone else. My name is Alice." The dragon slayer stared at her. "What? No, that's wrong," he murmured.

"Natsu," Erza spoke up from beside him. At some point, she had walked over to stand next to him. "She's not Lucy. Look at her eyes." This brought Levy's attention to the stranger's eyes, and she gasped. Alice's eyes were...how could she even begin to describe them? They swirled with different colors. At first, they appeared blue, then red seemed to pour out of her pupils, bleeding into her iris and turning it red, and then orange dots appeared, growing until her eyes turned a burnt orange color.

As Levy concentrated on the blonde's eyes, Natsu's shoulders slumped, and he turned around and walked back to his seat, collapsing down in between Happy and Lisanna. Erza turned back to the two newcomers, extending her hand. "I am Erza Scarlet," she introduced herself. Alice shook her hand. "Alice," she replied. "Sometimes known as the Queen of Hearts." The redhead quirked an eyebrow at both the alias and the lack of a surname, but she said nothing and turned to the other stranger. The black-haired man smoothly took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "The Jack of Hearts," he said as he straightened up. "Just call me Jack."

Erza was unflustered by Jack's blatantly flirtatious actions, and simply nodded in acknowledgement of the introductions. "May I ask why you've come to Fairy Tail?" she said. Both of them glanced at the other, and they seemed to have an entire conversation mentally in a few seconds of eye contact. "We've come for two reasons," Alice began. "One, we have information regarding a certain dark guild that I believe your guildmaster will want to hear." "Two," Jack finished. "We wish to join Fairy Tail."

"What dark guild would this be?" a gruff voice called. Makarov stepped to the edge of a table to speak to them. The blonde turned to face him, but Jack was the one who spoke. "Hellhound Totem," he said, turning his head to look at the old man over his sunglasses. "They aren't as dead as everyone thought they were."

Chaos ensued. After Levy had revealed the last letter Lucy had sent, everyone had taken turns searching for the guild she had mentioned, only to find out that they had been erased from the face of the planet. There was only a crater where their underground base once was. Everyone except Natsu had assumed that Lucy had taken them down and died in the explosion. The only hope they had was that Virgo had never showed up.

Makarov slammed his foot against the table, waiting until order was restored. "Do you have proof that Hellhound Totem still exists?" he questioned, watching them intently. Alice stepped forward and began to roll her sleeves up, only to have her hands caught by Jack. "Are you sure you want to do that?" he said quietly, meeting her eyes over his sunglasses. "It's what we came here to do," she replied, just as quietly. "I'll be fine. Rule number one." _What?_ Levy thought. _What does 'rule number one' mean?_

Her attention was pulled back to the scene as the black-haired man smiled sadly at Alice, then released her. The blonde stepped forward, pushing her sleeves up past her wrists.

Levy sucked in a quick breath, her stomach dropping. Alice's wrists were covered in red scars. There was a set near each hand, and one on each forearm several inches higher.

They were the kind of scars left when you hung from shackles.

The guildmaster's eyes widened, and he quickly looked back up at the blonde. "These are from…" "Shackles," she answered, expressionless. "I was captured by Hellhound Totem and tortured for information on my magic." Makarov suddenly looked like he was feeling every one of his eighty-eight years. He ran a hand over his face, sighing. "Perhaps we should speak in my office, instead," he suggested. The trio proceeded to walk up the stairs and down a hallway, out of sight.

XxX

Alice sat in the chair across from Makarov, and Jack stood by the door. The old man frowned at the action. "You can sit too, you know," he pointed out, nodding at the second chair. The black-haired man just shook his head. "I'm fine," he said. "Alice is the one you need to speak to, not me. I'm only here to ensure her safety." The guildmaster tipped his chair back, frown deepening. "Her safety? There's nothing here to hurt her." "He's paranoid," Alice said, smiling slightly. "Don't mind him." Jack sighed. "We've been over this, Alice," he muttered. "It's not paranoia. It's-" "Reasonable concern, yes, yes, I know," she interrupted. "Instead of repeating old arguments, how about we explain ourselves to this poor, confused guildmaster over here?"

That was a fairly accurate description. Makarov was watching the byplay between the two with an expression that was an odd mixture of amusement, impatience, and utter confusion.

Alice looked down at her gloved hands with a pensive expression. "How do you think I should explain this?" she asked Jack, who was watching silently. "Take off your gloves," he answered. "That should explain it rather nicely." She spun around in her chair to stare at him. "Are you crazy!?" she snapped. He said nothing, just looking at her through his sunglasses. The blonde hissed something under her breath, then returned her gaze to the table. "I want you to promise me something," she told Makarov. "When I take off my gloves...don't assume anything. Just...don't say anything until you hear what I have to say." The old man tipped in his chair. "Child, I assure you that I will listen."

Alice took in a deep breath, gazing at her hands, clenching and unclenching her fists. "Okay," she murmured, then ripped off her gloves. Her palms were relatively normal, although they were lined with scars from the ball of her thumbs over the heel of her hands. _More torture scars?_ Makarov asked himself, but didn't speak out loud, because just then, she turned her hands over.

On the back of her right hand was a pink Fairy Tail mark.

"L-" "Shh!" The guildmaster started to speak, but was abruptly cut off by Jack hissing. The black-haired man had one ear pressed against the door, eyebrows lowered angrily. Suddenly, he ripped it open, reaching out and pulling a figure in by their shirt.

It was Natsu.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed at the dragon slayer as Alice quickly put her gloves back on. Natsu just glared back at him. "I could ask the same question," he spat back. "I don't know who you are, but that person with you is obviously Lucy. So what the hell do you think _you're_ doing?" He shoved back, knocking the other man's glasses off.

Alice stood up from her chair, turning to face him. "I'll say this again, Dragneel-san," she said stiffly. "I am not your missing nakama. You have the wrong person, and I'll thank you to kindly stop insulting my companion." The salmon-haired man looked at her, eyes wide and pleading. "Luce, I know it's you," he whined. "I dunno what this guy-" -he jerked a thumb at Jack, who still had Natsu's shirt twisted in his fist- "-did to you, but-"

 _Slap._

Jack dropped Natsu as the dragon slayer brought a hand to his cheek. The blonde had just slapped him across the face. "Do _not_ insult my friends," she spat. "Jack saved my life. Say what you like about me, but insult him again, and I will not hesitate to rip your tongue out." He stared at her in shock. "Alice," Jack said urgently, grabbing her shoulder. "Careful, you're going blue." She sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes. As she collected herself, the black-haired man turned to Natsu. "Leave," he snapped. "What is about be discussed is none of your business." The dragon slayer glared for a moment longer, before nodding to Makarov and walking out of the office.

Jack closed the door behind him, and turned back to the other two occupants of the room. The guildmaster was frowning at Alice. "May I ask why you came here in disguise, Lucy?" he asked. The blonde just raised one finger in a _wait a moment_ gesture. "Jack," she mumbled. "You explain it." He eyed her for a moment. "You've got control, right?" She nodded, but squeezed her eyes shut and pressed a hand against her face. "I'm fine," she managed to say. "Aquarius is acting up. You know how pissed she gets when I accidentally call on her."

"Aquarius?" Makarov asked quickly. "Your spirit?" "I'll explain why we came here in disguise," Jack said, sitting down next to Alice. "But that's a question for Alice. It's not my place to discuss her magic." "'We' came in disguise? Sorry, do I know you?" the old man questioned. The black-haired stranger just laughed at that, putting his sunglasses back on. "I'll start at the beginning," he replied, still chuckling. "Things will make a lot more sense then." He tipped his chair back, getting comfortable and looking up at the ceiling contemplatively. "First things first," he said slowly, reaching up to finger a lock of hair. "The black is hair dye. Last time you saw me, I had orange hair, and went by Loke."

XxX

Alice and Jack emerged back into the guild hall almost two hours later. They were greeted by utter silence. After almost a solid minute of staring and muttering, the blonde turned to her partner and said conversationally, "You know, Jack, I knew you weren't very attractive, but I didn't think you were ugly enough to kill the conversation like that." The silence continued, until Wakaba snorted with repressed laughter. That was the catalyst for the following waves of mirth that swept the gathered mages. While everyone laughed, the pair moved unnoticed towards the bar.

Mirajane greeted them as they stopped in front of the bar. "Hello, Alice, Jack," she smiled, then blinked in surprise as she saw who accompanied them. "Master?" "Mira," he nodded. "These two are joining the guild. Can you get them their marks?" She looked confused for a moment, but then turned towards Jack and Alice. "Welcome to Fairy Tail!" she said, smiling widely at them. "Follow me and I'll get you your marks."

"What color do you want?" the barmaid asked as they arrived at the counter covered in stamps. Alice gazed at the carved wooden pieces with an unreadable expression. If Mira had had to hazard a guess, she would have called it a mixture of nostalgia and wistfulness. "I'll get orange," Jack announced, stepping forward and rolling his left sleeve up. "Middle of the inner forearm, please." The white-haired mage followed his instructions, then looked at Alice.

The blonde was now holding a gloved hand over her left shoulder. "Can these cover up scars?" she asked, not looking up from the stamps. Mira blinked in confusion. "I think so," she said slowly. Alice bit her lip, then released her shoulder. She unbuttoned the first two buttons of her top, revealing a white tank top underneath, and slid it over her left shoulder. "I'll get black," she said decisively. "Over the circular scar."

It was a good thing she specified which scar, because there were a hell of a lot of them. Even on the few inches of exposed skin, there were burn scars, white lines from cuts, pink lines from deeper cuts, and what looked like whip marks. Probably the worst, though, was a circular scar about an inch in diameter right where the shoulder muscle attached to her torso. It looked like someone had taken a power drill to her, although Mira doubted that that was what really happened.

In what took a massive amount of self control, she didn't flinch at the gruesome marks on the blonde's skin, and put the mark where she wanted it. Alice rebuttoned her shirt, hiding the marks on her skin once more. "Thanks, Mira-san," she said softly, nodding at the barmaid.

"I have an idea," Jack suddenly announced. "It's a miracle!" the blonde exclaimed. "Oh, shut up," he replied, then looked at Mira. "How about Alice and I come sit at the bar, and you can ask us all the questions that I can tell you're dying to ask?" The white-haired mage blushed in embarrassment. "Was it really that obvious?" she mumbled, looking at her feet. The black-haired man chuckled. "No, but it was a good guess, huh?"

The sound of Alice's elbow striking Jack in the stomach echoed through the guild hall. As he struggled to regain his breath, the blonde dragged him to the bar and shoved him onto a stool before seating herself. "You wound me," he wheezed as Mira stepped behind the bar and grabbed them each an ice water. "As true love is wont to do," Alice replied with a (incredibly) straight face, sipping her water.

"Question number one," Mira said, leaning over the bar and resting her chin on her laced fingers. "What exactly is the relationship between you two?"

Alice choked on her water.

As she coughed and hacked, Jack answered the question. "Our relationship is wholly platonic, however-" His companion's hand clapped over his mouth. "We're just friends," she repeated, then suddenly yanked her hand away. "Ew!" she complained. "Why would you lick my hand!?" "I think Mira-san is fairly interested in hearing the 'however'," he said, grinning evilly. The barmaid leaned in slightly. "I would love to hear the 'however'," she agreed. "In that case, _I'll_ explain it," Alice snapped, turning to face Mira.

"We both have acknowledged romantic feelings for the other," she said. The barmaid tipped her head. "Then you're together?" she asked. "No," Jack cut in. "Our lives are, unfortunately, not that simple." "What do you mean?" The black-haired man ran a hand across his face, sighing and taking off his sunglasses.

"Everyone has a set of rules that they have to obey," Alice said hesitantly. "Jack's are more...constraining than most." "But what does that _mean_?" Mira insisted. "It's not something I can really explain," Jack said. "There are certain things I can't do, and entering a relationship with Alice is one of them."

That didn't really explain anything, but Mira had already moved to question number two. "Why do you use playing card names?" Alice's eyes widened, then she turned to her companion, a slightly evil grin spreading across her face. "She doesn't know," the blonde told him. Jack returned the creepy smile, then they looked back to Mira, speaking in sync. "We're the Magic Card Duo," they said proudly. "We fight dark guilds."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm still alive. Yay. Sorry for the delay, school's been an absolute nightmare, and I recently discovered Supernatural. You can see the dilemma. Anyway, I didn't really want to cut the chapter off there, but it was getting really long, so enjoy the massive update. Also, you may be questioning why I rated this M. It's not for smut or anything, I couldn't write that if I tried. No, there's going to be a lot of graphic violence later on, such as flashback's to Alice's torture and such. This is not beta-approved because I haven't got a beta, so please don't slaughter me over grammar.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, I wouldn't have brutally removed Aquarius. Rude, Mashima. Rude.**

"Excuse me," a male voice interrupted. "Did you say you fight dark guilds?" Alice turned in her seat to face the speaker. It was a young man with blue hair and an intricate tattoo around his right eye. "And you are?" the blonde asked, ignoring his question. "Ah! I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I'm Jellal Fernandes." Alice shook the proffered hand. "I'm Alice, sometimes known as the Queen of Hearts," she said. "And yes, my partner and I fight dark guilds."

Jellal climbed into the seat next to her. "This may be an intrusive question," he said hesitantly. "But why do you fight dark guilds?" Alice looked down at her water, contemplating the question. "Initially, it was for revenge," she answered. "I was captured and tortured by Hellhound Totem some time ago. Destroying other dark guilds seemed a good a way as any to exact revenge. However, after a while, it became my purpose."

The ex-convict frowned at that. "Your purpose?" he questioned. "I was doing something good," Alice explained. "I was cleansing the world of evil, and I saw no reason to stop. It was as good a calling as any."

"I see," Jellal murmured. "Well, at any rate, I won't be fighting any dark guilds anymore," she continued. "Official guilds are banned from hunting them down." The blue-haired mage stood and excused himself, returning to the table he was sharing with Erza.

Alice turned back to Mira. "Our sign is two playing cards," she explained. "The Jack and Queen of Hearts. We leave them at the site of every dark guild we destroy. Eventually, people started calling us the Magic Card Duo, and it kind of stuck.

"Wait just one moment," the barmaid said. "You two are _the_ Magic Card duo. The one that has destroyed six dark guilds in the past year, and taken down the remnants of the Hellhound Totem organized crime syndicate? _That_ Magic Card Duo?" Jack grinned at her. "That would be us, yes," he informed her. "However, as you overheard earlier, Hellhound Totem is still around. We took down most of the power behind their organization, but the guild itself still exists. Since their base was destroyed, it's gotten harder to find them."

Mira took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she processed that information. "Why playing cards?" she blurted. "Why use playing cards as your symbol?" The pair looked at each other, then back at her. "You know," Alice said slowly. "I'm not quite sure. We just started doing it and it kind of stuck. We started calling each other by playing card names, and it just became our thing." The white-haired mage's eyes gleamed. "So, Jack," she said, turning to face him. "What's your real name then?" The black-haired man would've tipped his fedora if he'd had one. "Why, the Jack of Hearts, of course," he responded. Mira glared at him, frowning. "But Alice just said that you started calling each other those names."

Jack laughed at her confusion. "That doesn't mean that my name isn't Jack," he replied, still chuckling.

"Question three," Mira announced, giving up. "Where are you staying? Alice, we have a girls dormitory if you want to stay there, but Jack, you'll have to find a place in town." Alice looked over at Jack at that question, making eye contact. _What do you think?_ she thought, sending it over the telepathic link between them. It was yet another side affect of her magic. Will you be alright without me there? her companion replied mentally. _I'll be fine. If I need you, I can just summon you. Can you stay in the Spirit World? It'd make rent cheaper._

"Sounds like a plan," the black-haired man said aloud. "Good!" Alice grinned, turning to Mira. The barmaid had a blank, confused expression on her face. "Okay," she said slowly. "I believe in couple's telepathy and all, but did you just make an entire plan by staring at each other?" Both laughed at that. "It's part of my magic," the blonde explained. "I can communicate with Jack telepathically."

"What exactly is your magic?" Mira asked. Instantly, Alice's open, laughing expression went blank, and she wouldn't meet the white-haired mage's eyes. Jack placed one hand on her shoulder sympathetically. "That's a sensitive subject for her," he told Mira quietly. "Hellhound Totem was asking the same question." The barmaid gasped and brought her hands to her mouth. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, looking at Alice with wide, concerned eyes. The blonde just stared at her gloved palms, mouthing words and making no noise.

"Rule number one, Alice, rule number one," Jack murmured in her ear, sliding his arm all the way around her shoulders. "You're okay."

Slowly, Alice seemed to come back to Earthland, her whispering ceasing and muscles relaxing. She looked up and smiled weakly at Mira. "Sorry about that," she said with as much cheerfulness as she could muster. "I can answer the question now, if you really want to know." The barmaid tried to protest, but the blonde just waved it off.

"I assume you're familiar with celestial magic?" At Mira's nod, she continued. "I use a unique form of it. While most celestial mages summon spirits to fight for them, I embody their aspects." She giggled at the white-haired mage's confused look.

"See, there are hundreds of celestial spirits, but the twelve most powerful are linked to the Zodiac, and are named after the signs. Each spirit, but most notably those of the Zodiac, has its own powers and personality. I can access the powers of the spirits through a telepathic link. Also, each spirit's personality is unique. If my emotions align with a spirit's personality, I'll accidentally access their powers. My eyes are always changing color, right? That's a side effect of my magic. When I'm accessing a spirit's power, my eyes will turn a color that represents their element and personality. For instance…" she closed her eyes. "Scorpio."

Mira gasped. Alice's eyes had turned a dark red, with a rusty ring around the pupil. "That's so cool!" she almost squealed. "What other colors can you do?" The blonde laughed at her excitement. "I can use ten colors-well, technically eleven, because Gemini is two, but only ten spirits. Any other questions?" The barmaid tapped her chin thoughtfully. "How come you can only use ten spirits?" "I can only embody Zodiac spirits," she explained. "And only those whose keys I've come into contact with."

Mira's eyes narrowed. "You've come into contact with ten Zodiac keys? Which ones?" Alice chewed her lip, thinking. "Well, there's Aquarius, Scorpio, Leo," she said, ticking them off on her fingers. "Taurus, Cancer, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aries." The barmaid's eyes widened, and she grabbed Alice's shoulders over the bar. "You've met Lucy," she hissed. "Where?" The blonde leaned slightly away from the other woman. "Calm down, Mira-san," she said, making placating gestures with her hands. "I don't know where your nakama is."

The white-haired mage released her, and settled back behind the bar. "Sorry, Alice," she apologized. "But you just listed all of Lucy's spirits." "I know," Alice agreed. "I met her three years ago. She overheard Jack and I discussing my magic and let me hold all her keys so I could use their power."

Jack gripped her shoulder, catching her attention and drawing her eyes to his. What are you doing? he hissed over their mental connection. _I don't have a choice,_ she replied. _We're just lucky she didn't connect the dots. I had to make up some kind of an excuse, and luckily this one is believable._ The black-haired man was silent for a long moment. I hope you know what you're doing. Rule number four. Then he broke eye contact and ended the conversation.

"So," Mira said, bringing both their gazes back to her. "You never did answer the question about where you'll be staying." Alice chewed her lip. "How much is the rent at the girls' dorm?" "A hundred thousand jewels a month," the barmaid replied promptly. The blonde's eyebrow raised slightly. "I see," she murmured, calculating in her head. Taking jobs with Jack instead of Natsu meant no property damage fines, factoring in their savings, and taking into account that her companion wouldn't need rent money…

"I'll take it," she announced. "Who do I talk to?" Mira smiled at that, motioning for Alice to wait a moment. "Erza!" she called to the requip mage, beckoning her over. The redhead nodded sharply at the two newest members before turning to the barmaid. The requip mage looked up from down the bar, where she was sitting with Jellal, and, of course, her ever-present strawberry cake. The redhead slipped of her stool and headed their way.

"What do you need, Mirajane?" Erza asked, her ever-present stiff, formal tone showing clearly in her voice.

"Alice here is planning on living in Fairy Hills," Mira said. "She needs all the paperwork and such." Erza nodded, eyes flicking over to the blonde with a vaguely suspicious, guarded look. Alice ignored it, holding her slight smile in place.

"All the papers are in the top drawer on the right side of my desk in my room," the Titania directed. "Who's giving the tour?"

"I'll do that," Mira quickly answered. "Lisanna can watch the bar for a bit." Alice's eyes narrowed slightly, turning grey. She didn't say anything, but both Jack and Erza caught the suspicious look she sent towards the barmaid.

"If that is all, I will be leaving now," the redhead announced, and without waiting for an answer, turned on her heel and walked back over to where Jellal was sitting and watching her with a disgustingly affectionate look on his face.

"Lisanna!" Mira called to her younger sister across the room. The younger sister looked up from where she had been sitting with Natsu's head in her lap. The dragon slayer had his eyes closed, with a tortured expression marring his features. Lisanna quickly murmured a few words to him that were lost in the hubbub of the room, before gently slipping his head off her legs and onto the hard, wooden bench.

"Mira-nee," she greeted as she approached them. "What's going on?" She glanced over at Alice with a similar suspicious look to the one Erza had worn earlier.

"I'm going to help Alice here move into Fairy Hills," Mira explained. "I need you to watch the bar for a bit while I give her the tour. Is that alright?" The younger mage nodded slowly.

"Sure, I can do that," she agreed. "But can you hurry back? Natsu needs me." She didn't clarify beyond that, but Mira's face pinched with sadness, and she nodded.

"I'll do my best," she agreed. "Let's go, Alice." The blonde quickly followed, but not before sending a curious glance at Natsu, wondering just what, exactly, he needed Lisanna for, and why Mira looked so sad.

XxX

"...And down that hall is Levy and Laki's rooms," Mira said, pointing down another hallway. "And that about finishes up the tour! I'll show you your room, then go grab the rent agreement and such from Erza. Sound good?" Alice nodded, a blank look fixed on her face. "Earthland to Alice?" Mira asked jokingly, waving a hand in front of the blonde's face. Alice jolted, as if awakening from a trance.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "I was talking to one of the spirits. We were going to go see my room?" The barmaid narrowed her eyes at the shorter girl. Alice had been staring down the corridor blankly, but she was definitely focused on the doors down the hall, not some mental conversation.

She shook it off, deciding to talk about it later, in a conversation that she was planning to have with Alice the instant they were alone. Mira planned to force the blonde out of whatever insanity was making her lie.

Oh yes, Mirajane knew. She knew that Alice was actually Lucy, and that Jack was actually Loke. If it wasn't obvious enough from the fact that the celestial mage had the exact same features as her old nakama, the spirits she used were the final straw. So, Mira was going to confront her and get her to spill.

"This is your room!" she announced, stopping in front of a nondescript door. Many of the others had various personal effects on them, or were just made of different materials, but this one was remarkably...unremarkable. Alice glanced over at Mira, who nodded and gave an encouraging push towards the door. Shrugging mentally, she grabbed the handle and swung open the door.

The apartment wasn't anything special, but it was most definitely nicer than Alice's old one from her first stint with Fairy Tail, and certainly better than anywhere else she had stayed since escaping Hellhound Totem a year ago. It was furnished, but sparse as far as she could tell. There was a small kitchen combined with a dining room off to the side, and a living room in front of her, with a large couch, a small table, and a few lamps next to a small bookshelf. In the back, there was a door that presumably led to a bedroom. Alice stepped inside, glancing around for the lightswitch.

The door clicked shut behind her. Alice froze. She slowly turned around, facing Mira with a calculating look. The barmaid was leaning against the closed entrance, arms crossed over her chest, her jaw set and eyes determined. The celestial mage's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's that about, Mira-san?" she asked, voice calm and steady but radiating warning. Mira stepped forward off the door, uncrossing her arms and leveling her gaze at Alice.

"Let's stop playing pretend," she said. "I know that you aren't who you say you are. You can deny it all you want, but I know the truth... _Lucy._ " The blonde went stiff, eyes widening and jaw clenching.

"Don't call me that," she half-snarled, with far more viciousness than her old self could ever have mustered. "I don't care what you think you know, I am not your old nakama and I'm not about to pretend to be her to make you happy." Mira glared right back at the celestial mage.

"Don't bother denying it," she hissed. "If the fact that you look identical to her didn't make it obvious enough, Jack, other than his hair, looks identical to Loke, who I know is one of your spirits. And you use every single one of Lucy's spirits." Mira clapped her hands. "Did I miss anything?"

"I told you," Alice snapped. "I met Lucy a few years ago and she let me hold her keys. That's why I can use her spirits."

"Yeah?" Mira retorted. "Then why do you wear gloves unless it's to cover up your old guild mark?" Alice rolled her eyes, pulling off her right glove. She extended her hand, palm down. The back of her hand was blank.

"There! Happy?" she growled. "No mark!" Mira's eyes narrowed.

"How do you know where Lucy's mark is if you aren't her?" she questioned, jumping on the opportunity. The blonde's eyes went wide, and for a split second, a look of utter panic and sheer terror flashed across her face, reminding Mira of the look of an animal being hunted. Then her expression went blank and calm.

"I met her, remember?" Alice explained. "It's kind of hard to miss a pink tattoo on someone's hand." Mira looked at her stonily.

"You can deny it if you want," she announced. "But we both know who you really are, and I'll go tell the rest of the guild if you don't explain." Alice inhaled sharply.

"You wouldn't do that," she said with a pleading note in her voice. "Please don't do that." Mira crossed her arms, not backing down.

"Then first admit that you are actually Lucy, and then explain yourself," she snapped. "Everyone thought you were dead, and Natsu has almost driven himself insane worrying about and searching for you. I think we deserve an explanation."

Alice ran her hands over her face, and Mira noted that she had put her glove back on.

"Let's go sit down," she muttered, walking over to the couch. "I'll summon Jack, this might take a while." The barmaid followed her, mentally noting that despite the fact that Alice had basically admitted she was actually Lucy, she still referred to Loke as Jack.

Before she could comment, however, Alice (or Lucy or whoever she was) sat down, bringing her hands up to her temples and closing her eyes. Mira opened her mouth to ask what she was doing as a flash of golden light illuminated the room. It faded in seconds, revealing Jack stepping forward with a concerned look.

"What's wrong? I was in meeting with the Spirit Ki-" He cut himself off, catching sight of Mira.

"She knows," Alice said quietly. "She knows, and unless we explain, she's going to tell the rest of the guild." Her voice cracked, sounding utterly hopeless and broken. Jack grit his teeth, whirling around to face Mira.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" he hissed, glaring at her. "Did you not hear her in the guild earlier!? She was captured and tortured by a dark guild! And now you're threatening her? Whatever happened to Fairy Tail being a family? What kind of family treats its members like that?" The white-haired mage took a step back, more than a little bit scared by Jack's sudden rage.

"Jack," Alice mumbled, grabbing his arm. "Calm down. She doesn't know the whole story." The spirit grit his teeth, fists clenching and unclenching.

"That doesn't give her the right to-"

"We've been over this," the blonde interrupted. "I owe Fairy Tail everything, and if they want an explanation, then so be it." Jack turned away from Mira to fully face her.

"If they knew, they'd forgive you!" he argued. "Actually, if they knew, they wouldn't _want_ to know! We're doing them a favor!" Alice bit her lip hard, looking down.

"I know," she half-whispered. "But if they don't know, they can't forgive me. Anyway, it's just one person. We don't have to worry about…" She trailed off, but Jack seemed to understand. Mira, meanwhile, was watching them with her bobbing back and forth like she was in the front row at a tennis match.

"Is there a reason you two aren't dating?" she asked skeptically. "A legitimate reason. Seriously, you even manage to have chemistry while you're fighting." Alice rolled her eyes at Fairy Tail's resident matchmaker's antics.

"Jack is a celestial spirit, Mira-san," she explained, absently twisting her fingers together and staring off into space.

"So? Is there some kind of rule in the contract about relationships?"

"It's not that simple, unfortunately," Jack answered, crossing his arms and leaning up against the wall behind the couch. "Our contract doesn't say anything about it, but the ancient laws that bind all celestial spirits discourage it. They don't ban it explicitly, but things tend to go wrong in horrible, nasty ways when spirits get too attached to their masters. And beyond that, there's the fact that I'm immortal and Alice...well, isn't. I'll outlive her by quite literally forever. That's hardly a foundation for a healthy relationship." Mira pouted, but nodded in agreement.

"So," she said carefully, not wanting to trigger another bout of rage. "You were going to tell me the truth?" The Magic Card Duo exchanged a quick look, probably holding some kind of mental conversation. After a few seconds, Alice sighed, running her hands over her face and leaning back into the couch. Jack slid down next to her, gesturing for Mira to do the same.

"Might as well sit down," he informed her. "We'll be here for a while." Mira sat down on the far end of the couch, doing her best to face the other two. She got comfortable in the corner between the back and the arm of the couch, folded her arms, and turned to face them.

"Tell me the truth," she said. "All of it." Alice closed her eyes for a long moment, seeming to collect her thoughts, before opening them and twisting her fingers so tight it looked painful.

"I kept a lot of stuff out of my letters from the very beginning," she began, staring at her hands, which were now clenched together in a tight knot. "It wasn't because I wanted to lie to you guys. I just knew that if I told you anything about what I was getting myself into, Natsu would come charging after me in a heartbeat. I wanted to solve my own problems for once in my life, instead of relying on everyone else. So, I didn't talk about what I was really doing."

"And what was that?" Mira asked.

"Hunting down Hellhound Totem," she said, straightening in her seat slightly. "About six months after I left, I encountered members of the actual guild–not hired thugs or members of gangs controlled by Hellhound Totem, but actual members, with guild marks and everything. They...they killed someone who I had been travelling with. That was when I realized that I had to destroy them. They had their hands in just about every illegal business in existence, everything from drugs to slave trade with other continents. And then they killed someone I cared about.

"At that point, I decided that I had had enough. I summoned Loke, and we went hunting. I still sent letters every month, but at that point, they were completely fabricated. I couldn't risk you guys hearing about what I was getting into, for your own safety as well as my pride. Hellhound Totem was already after me, and if Fairy Tail was involved and they somehow found out… I couldn't risk it. So I kept everyone in the dark.

"After about a year, we managed to track them down to a small mining town in the south. I had been gone for about two years at that point. They had the entire place under their control. The business owners were paying bribes because if they didn't, their families died. The children were forced to work in the mine. All of the girls over fifteen…" Alice trailed off, staring at her hands. Mira was watching her, wide-eyed.

"Sex slavery," Jack said, sliding an arm around Alice's shoulder as she clenched her fingers and tried to collect herself. "Understandably, we couldn't let that keep happening. We got everyone out one night, but we didn't have the firepower at the time to destroy the base. So, Gemini stuck around, copying people and keeping an eye on Hellhound Totem for us. Four months later, we came back, this time with a group of mages we had gathered. All of them had lost people to Hellhound Totem, and we decided to get our revenge."

"I'd rather not go through the details of the plan," Alice continued, having calmed down. "But we essentially snuck into the base, planted some explosives that one of the members of our team had created, and blew the place up. The thing is, the explosives needed someone there to manually trigger them. I volunteered. Everyone else left, scattering across the country so it would be harder to hunt them down. I stayed, and triggered the explosives." She broke off, twisting her fingers so tight her knuckles cracked. Jack gently placed his hands over hers, untangling her fingers.

"Alice was captured," he said quietly. "She was lucky to survive the initial blast. Even though Virgo had built a bomb shelter kind of thing, Alice sustained serious burns and some shrapnel wounds. Then the damned bastards imprisoned her." The spirit's voice shook with barely controlled anger, his jaw clenching tightly. Alice placed a gentle hand on his arm, still shaking slightly.

"They held me for six months," she said quietly, in a detached tone. "I was tortured. They wanted to know where everyone else had gone, their names, and their magic abilities. They kept asking about my magic, too: something about whether or not I had unlocked a gate to the Spirit World. I didn't know what they were talking about, and that just seemed to piss them off more. Eventually, Jack got a small army of spirits together and broke me out. I spent a few months recovering with Porlyusica, which was when I spoke to the Spirit King."

"Wait a minute," Mira interrupted. "You were with Porlyusica? And no one told us?"

"I told them not to," Jack said, face rock-hard. "She didn't want anyone to know."

"They would've asked questions," Alice explained, voice cracking. "They would've asked where I had been, why wasn't I writing, what was happening, why was I so injured? I didn't have answers, at least not any I could tell them. It was for the safety of Fairy Tail. I'm in way too deep, Mira, and the only reason I'm back here is because I can't handle this on my own."

"That and the prophecy," Jack muttered. Mira looked at him in surprise.

"Prophecy?" she questioned. "What prophecy? And what do you mean, in too deep? Too deep in what?" Alice raised both hands in a slow-down gesture.

"I'm involved in a lot of things that are incredibly dangerous," she explained. "Hellhound Totem is just the very nasty tip of the iceberg. There's a massive organization focused on hunting me and my group down. And they are not about to stop until either every last one of them is dead, or they have contracts with all of my spirits and instructions on how to open a gate to the Spirit World. Then they'll kill me and all of my friends." Mira looked at her in shock.

"I'm so sorry," she blurted. "I-oh God, I snapped at you. I'm so sorry." She covered her mouth, utter shame shining in her eyes. Alice waved a hand.

"You didn't know," she muttered, awkwardly dismissing the barmaid's concerns. "At any rate, I should explain the prophecy. Basically, several thousand years ago, when humans were still scattered across the globe and magic was yet be utilized, Celestial Spirits roamed free. They lived alongside people, not necessarily peacefully, but without major conflict. Then, around X020, an emperor rose up. He conquered Fiore, and eventually, the entire world. We don't know his name, but we do know that he recruited hundreds of Spirits unwillingly, forcing them to fight for him. See, he had discovered a spell that would trap them in another dimension, leaving behind a key to summon them.

"This in itself wasn't too bad, and most Spirits would've simply accepted the banishment instead of fighting, but he also developed a way to steal their immortality and make himself live longer. He killed thirteen Spirits before the rest surrendered and joined his military." Alice sighed heavily, running a hand across her face.

"He died in X134, and the empire fell by X135," Jack said, picking up the story. "He knew he was going to die soon, so he gathered all of the Spirits together into a camp. I don't know what kind of insanity went through his mind, but he banished every last one of us to another dimension, using all of his magic and killing himself. The keys were scattered, and the empire fell. Eventually, magic was harnessed, and people figured out how to summon Spirits. Over a thousand keys were destroyed beforehand, though. There's a vast number of us that will never see Earthland again."

"One of those thirteen Spirits that were killed was a seer," Alice continued, seamlessly transitioning from Jack's narrative. "She spoke prophecies. Most of them have either been lost to time or fulfilled, but there's a few left. I don't know the exact wording, but one of them talked about a mage that would unite a certain group of keys and open a gate to the Spirit World, releasing Spirits back into Earthland where they belong. Those keys are the twelve golden Zodiac keys. I have ten of them. Another mage had the last two. The organization got there first. She made it out alive and in one piece, stealing her keys back on the way out. No thanks to her guild, Sabertooth kicked her out, the bastards. She helped us with the attack on Hellhound Totem, but I've got no idea where she is now. It's next to impossible to track a freelance mage down; she could be halfway across the world by now."

"Wait a moment," Mira interrupted. "There's a few things I don't understand. You're the chosen one of some prophecy?" Alice shook her head.

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple," she explained. "In books and such, prophecies are always made about a specific person. In real life, the 'chosen one' is really just whoever happens to be stupid, brave, or unlucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I wandered into this, and now I'm stuck with it until I either die or fulfill the prophecy-whichever comes first."

"But, if you met the mage who had the other keys, why didn't you just open the gate?" Mira asked, eyebrows drawing together in a frown.

"Because," Jack said, speaking up again. "That would release the Spirits back into Earthland, and that can't happen yet. The organization has the spell that the emperor used to drain Spirits of their immortality. Their plan, as far as we know, is to use Alice to open the gate, and then hunt down the Spirits and steal their immortality. So, before we release the Spirits, we have to take down the organization and destroy all records of the spell." Mira leaned back against the couch, exhaling heavily.

"Can I ask one more question?" she said. Alice made a _go-on_ gesture with one hand. "Why did you come back in disguise?" The barmaid bit her lip, considering her next words. "Fairy Tail–we would accept you. It would take some getting used to, but we could accept that you've changed. I know you know that. So why?" Alice traced patterns on her thighs absently, considering the inquiry.

"A few reasons," she began after a time. "Partially because the organization has people tracking me, and using an alias will make it harder for them. Our aliases are a tad famous, what with the whole Magic Card Duo thing, but no one knows who the real members of the Duo are, except us, and now Fairy Tail. The organization doesn't know that the Magic Card Duo is really Lucy Heartfilia and her Spirit, though. We're as close as we can get to untraceable this way. It's partly because we've already been calling each other Jack and Alice, and this way we don't have to readjust. But mostly…" her voice faded away, and her eyes got a faraway look in them.

"It's easier this way," she mumbled. "I don't have to face the memories." Mira tipped her head.

"The memories?" she questioned, confused. "What do you mean?" Alice sighed heavily, twisting her fingers again. Again, Jack caught her hands in his and held them gently.

"Of the torture," she whispered. "It's easier to deal with, if I pretend it happened to someone else."

 **A/N: So that's out in the open! Will Mira tell the rest of Fairy Tail? Will Alice? Has the organization found them? What's the organization's name, anyway? Find out at some point, probably in a few months!**


End file.
